NY Mets Monday Morning GM: 3 free agents who should’ve been used more in 2025

3) Brandon Waddell

This was a sneaky addition to the Mets roster in the offseason. Brandon Waddell had a good year in Korea and came over to the Mets on a major league contract. Unexceptional and flawed, he was still an incredibly useful arm the Mets should have pushed a little harder into more than mop-up duty in losses.

Waddell finished with a 3.45 ERA in his 11 games and 31.1 innings of work. Sporadically used throughout the year, the last time we saw him was on August 31 when he pitched 4.1 innings of shutout baseball in relief during a 5-1 loss to the Miami Marlins. It was the same game when we saw Kodai Senga step onto the mound for the last time, too.

Not his fault whatsoever, the Mets were 1-10 in games Waddell pitched in. He didn’t receive a decision in any of the appearances including his July 10 start versus the Baltimore Orioles which included 3 earned runs in 3 innings of work.

Considering the Mets needed a lefty for a good chunk for the year, it’s a bit questionable why they never truly considered Waddell for the gig. Richard Lovelady, Colin Poche, Jose Castillo…who else are we missing? Waddell had the best numbers among those who tried to fill the A.J. Minter void while Brooks Raley was elevated.

The Mets made good use of Waddell. They probably could have gotten more.